Bilboard Spotlight: New York

New York is the crossroads of the music world. No other city defines the heart, soul and rhythm of the global recording industry as does Manhattan and the surrounding metropolitan area. The roots of that claim go back for more than 100 years, and there's every indication that the Big Apple will extend its reach into the new millennium. Consider:

New York represents about 8% of U.S. full-length, retail album sales, according to SoundScan, more than $1 billion of the $12.8 billion reported by the Recording Industry Assn. of America for 1998.

Three of the five major-label groups maintain their headquarters and significant operations in New York and environs. BMG Entertainment North America, Sony Music Entertainment and the Warner Music Group have deep New York roots.

Music publishing was literally created in Broadway's historic Brill Building and the legendary, although fictitious, "Tin Pan Alley." The National Music Publishers Assn. (NMPA) and its Harry Fox Agency (HFA) royalty-collection arm, the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) all have their headquarters here, along with many leading independent and multinational publishers.
MAJOR-LABEL PRESENCE
When Thomas Edison invented the phonograph and tin-cylinder records across the Hudson River in his Edison, N.J., laboratories in the 1870s, his proximity to New York made the city a natural site for what would be the birth of today's recording industry.
By 1891, the Columbia Phonograph Co., a first link in what became Columbia Records, the CBS Records Group and now Sony Music Entertainment, was manufacturing "entertainment cylinders," mostly for the growing industry of coin-operated machines-forerunners of the jukebox.
A lively Broadway theater scene had developed by the turn of the century, and the musical play became very popular. In addition to imports like Gilbert & Sullivan's notable operettas, New York was nurturing its own musical artists. George M. Cohan's 1904 production of "Little Johnny Jones" introduced "Give My Regards To Broadway" and "I'm A Yankee Doodle Dandy," two of the 20th century's most popular songs.
While most of the serious music was then being imported from Europe, the opening of Carnegie Hall in 1901 meant the city could boast a performance space to rival any on the Continent. RCA Victor, the forerunner of RCA Records and what is now BMG Entertainment North America, began recording on its Red Seal label in 1903 at Carnegie Hall studios. By 1914, the total volume of recordings made by the label in New York was a benchmark-the center of classical recording had moved from the European capitals to Manhattan.
"After acquiring RCA Records and its long history as one of the oldest and most successful record labels in the world, [corporate parent] Bertelsmann chose to locate BMG's headquarters at Times Square," says Strauss Zelnick, chairman/CEO of BMG Entertainment North America. "New York is the hub of the entertainment industry, and Times Square is the "crossroads of the world.'
"The rich cross-section of cultural influences in the city makes New York a natural hotbed for music," he adds. "From jazz to blues and rap to rock and Latin to classical, virtually any musical interests a person has can be either pursued or enjoyed in Manhattan. Add to that all the venues of the metropolitan area and the fact that all the largest record companies have a major presence in the city, and it's understandable why so many are drawn here."
"New York City has always been, and will always be, the center of the world," remarks Thomas D. Mottola, chairman and CEO, Sony Music Entertainment. "Being based in New York has become even more significant now that our business is global. The music and film businesses both began in New York, and the city's diverse cultural makeup has always made it home to an incredibly wide array of musical styles.
"Just think of the famous folk and blues clubs in the Village," Mattola adds, "the songwriters and pluggers of Tin Pan Alley and the Brill Building, the legendary R&B and jazz performances at the Apollo Theater and the Cotton Club in Harlem. Virtually every neighborhood in this town has played an important role in the history of music. New York will always be at the heart of our business."
The Warner Music Group (WMG), a division of Time Warner Communications, has its worldwide headquarters in New York, where Roger Ames was recently named chairman. Two of its three major-label groups were born and have flourished in the city: The Atlantic Group and Elektra Entertainment Group.
"It's hard to imagine that the Elektra story could have originated from anywhere else but New York," says Sylvia Rhone, Group chairman/CEO. "From its very start, launched in the heart of Greenwich Village nearly a half-century ago, Elektra's path has always reflected the pulse, diversity and eclecticism of this great city. Its history over those 50 years has been intricately woven into the cultural fabric of our industry, with many of our greatest moments emanating from the studios, stages and streets of New York City.
"From the folk revival of the '60s to the hip-hop explosion of the '90s, Elektra has been there to light the way," Rhone adds. "Its transformation from a boutique imprint to a globally conscious, broad-based label mirrors the spirit of a 21st-century New York."
PUBLISHERS & SONGWRITERS
The rise of RCA Victor Red Seal as a prominent recording force in the early 1900s led to the system of paying royalties to artists. It was Red Seal producer C.G. Childs who agreed to pay musicians for each recording that was sold, in order to hold onto their exclusive services.
Music publishing had put down its roots back in 1867, when the first collection of black spiritual songs was published. It was the passage of the first U.S. Copyright Act in 1909 that led "Babes In Toyland" composer Victor Herbert and other musicians in 1914 to form ASCAP in New York to collect and distribute fees for the use of copyrighted songs. BMI was formed in 1940 by broadcasters in reaction to the licensing fees charged by ASCAP.
Both ASCAP and BMI have flourished in New York, along with many small to multinational music-publishing firms, most of whom are active members of NMPA and its Harry Fox Agency. The city is the center of music publishing due to the proximity of artists, songwriters, managers, publishers and the performing- rights groups.
"From the beginnings of the American music-publishing business, through the heyday of Tin Pan Alley and today's and tomorrow's digital age, New York has always stood as the heart and soul of our industry," says Ed Murphy, president of the NMPA/HFA. "The pulse and vitality of the Big Apple will always attract and inspire the great American songwriters and their publishing partners."
Observes Frances W. Preston, BMI president/CEO, "New York is, without question, the cultural and musical center of the world. If you are a cabaret singer; a pop, rock or rap recording artist; a country songwriter; a jazz composer; a classical-music publisher; a musical-theater arranger; an electric guitarist; or a klezmer musician from anywhere in the world, all roads eventually lead to New York.
"It is a city with a rhythm all its own, and all creators want to feel the beat," she says, adding, "It is the perfect place to do business in the business of music."
Putting the pieces in perspective, ASCAP CEO John A. LoFrumento says, "Like music itself, New York City is truth hidden in beauty; its essence serves to educate, challenge, inspire and, above all, remind us of our common heritage despite race or creed. New York City is not so much a destination as it is the heart and soul of the world's cultural movement."n
"Just think of the famous folk and blues clubs in the Village, the songwriters and pluggers of Tin Pan Alley and the Brill Building, the legendary R&B and jazz performances at the Apollo Theater and the Cotton Club in Harlem. Virtually every neighborhood in this town has played an important role in the history of music."
-Thomas D. Mottola, chairman and CEO, Sony Music Entertainment